Clifton has a strong tradition in cross country, with the annual ‘Pens’ event dating back to 1863.
Although much of cross country has changed since then, many of the routes covered by the team each week stem from these deep traditions. During the season (which is largely the Lent Term), we aim to stretch our runners to distances of over 10km, and provide opportunities for them to compete at the local and national level.
In the Summer Term, many of these runners will transfer across to athletics, either continuing with their distance runs, or turning their attention to sprints and/or field events. We use both the facilities up at our dedicated Beggar’s Bush sports ground or South Gloucestershire and Stroud College’s track in Filton which we are lucky enough to use each week. Here, the students get to experience what running on a proper rubber track feels like and can hone their techniques with starting blocks etc. We have a hugely busy term with fixtures at Marlborough and Millfield, and visit the National Indoor Athletics Centre in Cardiff.
